Pneumatic cleansing implement for removing dust.



A. E. MOORHEAD.

PNEUMATIC CLEANSING IMPLEMENT FOR REMOVING DUST.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 4, 1908.

Patented Oct. 29, 1912.

WITNESSES: j

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ATTORNEY.

KNIT STATES ATENT OFFICE.

ALBERT E. MOORI-IEAD, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR TO AMERICANROTARY VALVE COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

PNEUMATIC CLEANSING IMPLEMENT FOR REMOVING DUST.

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Specification of Letters Iatent.

Application filed August 4, 1908.

Patented Oct. 29,1912. Serial No. 446,978.

To all whom it may concern:

Be. it known that I, ALBERT E. MOORHEAD, a citizen of the United States,residing at San Francisco, in the county of San Francisco and State ofCalifornia, have invented new and useful Improvements in PneumaticCleansing Implements for Removing Dust, of which the following is aspecification.

My invention relates to an improved pneumatic cleansing implement ortool for use with pneumatic cleaning systems and especially adapted foruse on uncarpet-ed floors or other smooth surfaces.

The object of my invention is to provide a device of this characterwhich will not scratch or otherwise injure the floor, and in which thereis no, tendency to push in front of it the dust or other substances, asthe implement is advanced on the floor.

A further object is to provide such a device which will be noiseless inoperation; which will be very efiicient, on account of the leakage ofair being reduced to a minimum; and which will be light-running and easyto operate.

, In the accompanying drawing, Figure 1' is a perspective view of myimproved dust removing implement with a portion of the tubular handleattached thereto; Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of the same; Fig. 3 is asection on the line 3--3 of Fig. 2,-looking in the direction of thearrow; Fig. 4 is a section on the line 44 of Fig. 2; Fig. 5 is a brokenlongitudinal section.

Referring to the drawing, 1 indicates a casing or head inclosing aninlet chamber, which is of an elongated rectangular form, the casingbeing shaped at the center to form a conduit 2 opening into the inletchamber and adapted to be connected with a hollow handle 3, and therebywith an air tube, not shown, leading to a suitable suction apparatus.The latter form no part of my present invention.

Upon each end of'the casing is screwed, as shown at 5, an end plate 6,each end plate being formed on the inner side with rectangular elongatedrecesses 7, adapted to receive a square head 8 formed on a sleeve orbearing 9. Said sleeve passes through an elongated but rounded hole 10,formed in said head at the center of each recess, so that by thisarrangement the sleeve can be adjusted longitudinally in said recess. Itis secured in any desired position of adjustment by means of a clampingcap screw 11. Mounted in said bearings are trunnions 12, formed uponplates 13 secured to the ends of spaced parallel rollers 14: whichextend in a direction parallel to the length of the inlet chamber. Bythis arrangement the rollers can be adjusted to and from the center ofthe casing. Said rollers 14 project below the bottom edges of the heador casing and their bottom faces provide the contact surface .of thetool head, the rollers thus constituting the contact lips of the toolhead.

The longer sides of the casing are undercut or beveled, as shown at 17,and upon each beveled side is secured by means of a plate 18, a foldedstrip 19 of felt or similar substance, the folded edge thereof extendingbeyond said beveled edge and into contiguity with the adjacent roller.Each roller is preferably formed with a central portion of wood or otherlight material, and with a cylindrical jacket or sleeve 21 of rubber, orcomposition of such character as to avoid noise and also to disturb orloosen the dust as it passes over it. It will thus be seen that betweenthese rollers there is left a long narrow space or inlet slot 20, whichopens into the inlet chamber of the casing. The strips of felt arebrought as close to the rollers as practical, so as to substantiallyprevent the passage of air between the longitudinal walls of the casingand the rollers, and thusconfine the air currents to the central inletslot, which causes a vertical ascent of the dust in a direction normalto the surfaces being cleansed.

It will be seen that, by the above construc tion, I provide a dustremoving implement, in which there are no parts which can injure asmooth surface, such as that of a hard wood floor; that the device ispractically noiseless in operation; that it is very eiiicient in use, onaccount of the fact that the leakage of air is reduced to a minimum.Furthermore, with former implements having parts sliding over the floor,small objects, such as matches, are. pushed ahead of the implement. Inmy improved implement, the rollers roll over such small objects, andthey are collected by the implement.

An important feature of this invention is the fact that, by so arrangingthe rollers close together, as heretofore explained, it is not necessaryto use a brush between said rollers to sweep the floor or raise the dusttherefrom, but the suction of the air is itself sufiicient to producethis result.

I claim 1. In a dust removing implement, the combination of a casingformed with a passage adapted to lead to air exhausting apparatus, apair of rollers in said casing having their ends in close contiguity tothe ends of the casing, to form an inlet Way for dust leading to saidair exhausting passage, and strips of flexible material maintained inclose contiguity to the outer sides of the rollers, said rollersprojecting from the bottom of the casing to sustain and guide the same,substantially as described.

2. In a dust removing implement, the combination of a casing formed Witha passage adapted to lead to air exhausting apparatus, a pair of rollersin said casing having their ends in close contiguity to the ends of thecasing, to form an inlet Way for dust leading to said air exhaustingpassage, said rollers projecting from the bottom of the casing tosustain and guide the same, bearings for said rollers in the ends of thecasing, and means for adjusting said bear ings to or from the centrallongitudinal plane through the casing, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of twosubscribing Witnesses.

ALBERT E. MOORHEAD.

Witnesses:

. FRANCIS M. WRIGHT,

D. B. RICHARDS.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Iatents,

Washington, D. C.

